Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management reduced its Caterpillar stake by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,110 shares and ending with 11,658 shares valued at about $6.68 million.
• Caterpillar insiders have also been selling: Anthony D. Fassino and CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield both trimmed holdings, and insiders sold a total of 100,551 shares worth $91.2 million over the past 90 days.
• Despite the selling, Wall Street remains constructive on CAT after strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.54 per share and revenue of $17.42 billion beating estimates; analysts now see a Moderate Buy consensus and a $923.14 price target.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,110 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 108.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $222,120,000 after acquiring an additional 34,846 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 100,551 shares of company stock valued at $91,170,351 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar is being highlighted as a growing power-infrastructure play after a strategic framework agreement with ProPetro’s PROPWR unit to buy up to 2.1 gigawatts of incremental power-generation assets by 2031, reinforcing CAT’s role in electricity and backup-power equipment demand. Why Caterpillar (CAT) Is Becoming a Power Infrastructure Play Too
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer called Caterpillar “integral to data center construction,” which supports the bullish view that CAT can benefit from the ongoing AI/data-center buildout and related infrastructure spending. Jim Cramer on Caterpillar: “It’s Integral to Data Center Construction”
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage of Caterpillar’s “Building Beyond” internship and new AI initiatives suggests the company is investing in next-generation technology and talent, which may help support longer-term sentiment. Caterpillar’s ‘Building Beyond’ internship showcases new AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple roundup articles placing Caterpillar on lists of industrial, mining, and construction stocks suggest it remains a widely followed industrial name, but those mentions are not tied to a specific new catalyst. Industrial Stocks To Add to Your Watchlist - May 17th
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader “mooning stocks” and watchlist coverage may reflect strong momentum and proximity to highs, but it does not add a fresh fundamental update for CAT. 2 Mooning Stocks to Target This Week and 1 We Avoid
• Negative Sentiment: Deere’s earnings story included a stock decline despite a beat, reminding investors that industrial peers can sell off on margin or tariff-related concerns even when headline results are strong; this is a sector-level caution for Caterpillar rather than a CAT-specific problem. Deere Earnings Easily Beat, But There's A Catch. The Stock Is Falling.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Argus boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on Caterpillar and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.14.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $865.86 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $788.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $689.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $336.24 and a 1-year high of $931.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.10, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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